Sole for boots and shoes and method of making the same



Jan, zo, 1925.

J. E. GROSJEN SOLE FOR BOOTS AND SHOES AND METHOD 0F MAKING THE SAME Filed Sept, 4, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 2o, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES E. GROSJ'EAN, 0F LIMA, OHIO.

SOLE FOR BOOTS AND SHOES AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

Applicationled September 4, 1923. Serial No. 660,878.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES E. GnosJEAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lima, in the county of Allen and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Soles for Boots and'Shoes and Methods of Making the Same, of which the following is a specification.

The present inventionrelates to improvements vin soles or half-soles for boots and shoes, and more particularly to composite soles of the kind comprising strips or plies of rubber and textile material set edgewise, or Substantially so, to the tread or wear surface of the sole and extending to its peripheral edge, soles of this type being especially suitable for workingmens shoes .andfor similar uses where the edge of the sole 4must possess great strength. and wear-resisting qualities, it having been found that when soles having a surrounding edge or margin of rubber are subjected to hard'usage, the rubber edge prematurely wears and thus impairs or destroys the shoe. A

I have found thatif it is attempted to construct a sole of this type by extending the alternate strips of rubber and textile or fabric directly fromedge to edge of the sole, short length strips will result at certain points in the periphery of the sole, and also, thestrips at certain points will unavoidably extend lengthwise with the adjacent edge of the sole., and these short length strips or those extending lengthwise with the edge of the sole, particularly those at the toe of the sole, would break off under` the hard usage l to which such shoes are usually subjected.-

lThe primary object of the present invention is to provide a novela'nd improved sole or half-sole of the type above described but which avoids the foregoing-and other objections, the sole, according to the present invention, having \thc alternate rubber and ltextile strips set on edge, or substantially so-,and extending to the peripheral edge of the sole, but the stripsare so arranged and i assembled at the edge 'of the sole that they will not strip olf or` break oft' under the severe strains and- Wear to which shoes of this type are usually subjected, the strips, according to the presentinvention, being so arranged andassembled lthat there are no Short length strips exposed, at the edge of the sole, and moreover, all of the strips extend-cndwise to the exposed edge of the sole.

Another obiect of the invention is to provide avreinforcement for securing the shank end of a half-sole of this or a similar type to the shank of thev sole, whereby breakage of the sole at this point under severe strains is eectually prevented.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the features of novelty being pointed outparticularly in the claims at the endof thespecifica-4 tion.

ln the accompanying drawings Figure l is a bottom plan view of a shoe sole constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. j

ligure 2 is a bottom plan view of the sole during itscourse of manufacture and prior to its final assembly and curing.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing another mode of uniting the shank end of a halfsole to the shank of the sole.

Figure 4 represents on airenlarged scale a longitudinal section taken through the shank portion of the sole prior to curing and illustrating the reinforcement for uniting the shank end of the half-Soleto the' shankportion of the sole.

' Figure 5 is 'a view similar to Figure 4 but portions of the sole after curing.

. Soles or half-soles constructed in accordance with vthe present invention are capable of use generallyon boots and shoes, although they are particularly suitable for use on boots` and shoes intended to be worn by workmen where the soles. and particularly the edges thereof, are subjected 4to severe strains and wear. In order to aord the requisite strength and wear-resisting qualities atthe edge -of the sole, as well as in the body of the sole, it is desirable to construct the sole of alternate strips of textile material, preferably woven fabric impregnated 'with rubber, similar to the fabric Hused in' vautr'nnobile tire casings, or cord fabric impregnated with rubber, similar'to the cord fabric usedA in the casigs of cord automobile tires, the strips of fabric alternating with strips or plies of uncured rubber, thc strips the sole from edge to edge.

' points in the edge ofthe' `extend len hwise wit the ternate stri of fabric and rubber being extended across- I have found, however, that if it is attem ted to extend the fabric and rubber strips irectly Aacross thc vsole from edge to edge, the strips at ce1-tain sole will ne relatively short, and at other points in the edge of the sole the strips will extend lengthwise or substantiall f arallel with suchV edge, and these short lengt stri s or the stri s which A expose edge of the sole wi l be easily broken or stripped off from the sole, under the stresses or wear to which the sole is subjected, tliereby impairin the boot or shoe.

ccordingto the present invention the forward portion of the'sole is constructed' of al- 1, and textie material or fabric, designated face of the sole,

e. prepared in' any suitable way as, for ex- 'amp e, by superposingplies ofjthe textile material and rubber in v'sheet forni, then cutting strips from 4the plied'sheet, and then assembling the stripsjso'that the plies stand *edgewise' orsubstantially so to the tread or vtftlire'ads or cords presented endwise stri 'fi-' sembled in the manner above described, it islpreferable to cut out by dies or otherwise, sectionsitnd 4, which are adapted to be '-of the other section,

wear "surface-"ofthe sole, the ends of the of the textile plies being to the tread or wpar surfac e..f In making up a half-sole from the of rubber and textile material asplaced together and united along a longitudinal line 5 to form the half-sole, these sections being so cut that the rubber and textile strips' of the sections will extend- V diagonally of .the-length of the sole, the

strips of one section preferably extending at a diverging angle .with respect to the strips so that the strips of the two sections, when assembled, will form what may be termed a herringbone arrangement. The toe end of thesection 3 is formed with a notch 6, this notch having a tongue-like (portion beyond it, the

tion 4 is formed 'wit I edge 8 of which'diverges outwardlywith res ect fthe longitudinal or medial line 5. imila'i'ly, 'the' sech a notch or cut-outper- .and 9l of the notches tinuous linewlien .the assembled in proper registration, and this line is preferably approximately lparallel with the edgeof theto'e end of the sole which 6 and 9 form. a conL s or plies of rubber, designated.

`sections 3 z being placed together in a curin mold hav- -sole com risin l 2a.,.tongueflike: portionV i beyond it, and the ed'g'elo'f this portion' l0 .diverges outwardly'from the longitudinal or" Q-medial linejofthesection 4. The edges 6" substantial length.-VV It setions v3 and 4 lare portion of the sole an BN -strips'will be protected.- is to beproduced. Theatongiiejlke portions 7 ramasse -notches leaving portions 14 and 15 of the sections at their outer sides which may be bent ed ewise inwardly to close the notches.

n making a sole embodying the present invention, the heel and shank portion thereof, desi ated 16, maybe prepared from a sheet ofnilmcured rubber composition cut to the proper form and the forward portion of the sole may be composed of the composite and 4, the'twoparts of the solc ingthe form which 'the finishe sole is to have the tongue-like portions 7 and 8 to ward` the toe of the sole being bent inwardly to close the notches 6 and 9aiid to cause the edges 8 and 11 to meet and the portions 14 and 15 being also benti/nwardly until the notches 12 and 13 are closed, the form of the sole at this time being substantially in Figure` l. The sheet or layer o rubber or rubber compound 17 may be applied to the upper side of the forward portion of the the, sections 3 and 4, this rubber p y hol ing his part of the sole in shape for curing an a longer sheet or ly of rubber-impregnated canvas 18 is pre erably applied to the to of thesh'eet 17 and to the up er side of t e rear portion 16 of the sole, tiis latter canvas strip holding the parts of the sole to therV reparatory to curing. Rubber may l ap lled to the edges of the notches and to the e ges 8 and 11 efore the sole in process of manufacture is placed in the mo d, and the heat and pres sure applied to the sole while' undergoing curing within the mold permanently and firmly unites the constituent parts vof the sole and vulcanizes the portions 7 and 10 and 14 and 15in the position shown clearlyin .Fig ure'l. i 1 v It will be`observ'ed`in Figure 1 that thc strips of rubber and textile material extend in lengthwise directionvto the front or toe edge of the sole and that 'these strips are of will l.also be understood 'fromFigure l'that the portions 14 and 15 are drawn inwardly or toward'the longitudinal center of the 'sole so that the strips which otherwise would be exposedr atv the outer edge of the sole are caused to occupy positions within the ed s 19 of the shank hence, these short Figure Bellows a half-sole made in a man:

as shown ofthe half-sole may ner somewhat similar to that illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the front or toe end of the sole being notched and re-formed in the same manner as shown in Figuresv 1 and 2. The rear or shank edge of the' half-sole, however, instead of being notched, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, is provided with saw .teeth or serrations 20 and 21 along the edges thereof adjacent to the short length rubber and fabric strips. When a sole of this kind is placed in the mold and cured, the serra-tions 20 and 21 enable the rubber compound at the point where it joins the shank of the rear portion of the sole to become interlocked therewith and also to form a strong vulcanized joint which securely holds. the rubber j and fabric strips in proper place Ain the sole,

enabling these strips to effectually withstand stresses tending to dislodge them.

` In order to reinforce the sole at the joint between its forward and rear portions, and thus avoid breakage at this point under severe stresses, a strip of strong, "tough fabric, such as heavy canvas 22, bearing a layer of uncured rubber 23, is preferably inserted so that its front end overlaps the rear edge of the forward portion of the sole formed by the sections 3 and 4 audits rear end underlies the rear portion 16 of the sole. The mode of inserting this reinforcing strip is shown in Figure 4'. lVhen the solev is cured, the fabric or canvas strip 22 will become vulcanized within the sole, and it will extend across the joint formed between the front and rear portions of the sole` substantially as showuin Figure 5, it thus acting asfa tie to effectually prevent breakage or separation of the sole at the joint.

By notching the toe portion of the sole and then bending or draw-ing inwardly theportions of the sole at the outer sides of the notches or cut out portions until their edges meet, the short-length rubber and fabric strips which would otherwise exist at the toe along `the medial line of the divergently'- related strips are eliminated, and they are replaced by relatively long-length strips which are securely held in place and are capable of lesisting the stresses to which the toe of the sole is subjected, especially in shoesv worn by workmen. By notching the edge of the sole comprising the 'strips where itjoins the shank of the sole and bending or drawing inwardly the portions of the Sole at the outer sides of these notches. the relatively short strips are drawn inwardly so that they lie within the outer edge of the shank por- 4 tion of the sole and hence these short strips are protected and they therefore will not be subjected to stresses which otherwise might strip or break them away from the sole. Also, by rounding the rear corners of that portion of the sole which comprises r Ythe strips and forming teeth lor:serratioi'is in or adjacent to the.` short strips, the latter become securely vulcanized and keyed to the shankportion ofthe sole and hence breaking away of these strips is-prevented. f

The arrangement of the strips of rubber and textile material at relatively divergent anglesextending (preferably at about;45)

from opposite sides-of a medial line possesses substantial advantages over structures here- .tofore proposed, it facilitating manufacture andM enabling relatively small pieces of material to be utilized'and in use, it presents a surface which will possess substantially uniform wear-resisting properties throughoutfits area and it will effectively resist slipping in any direction. It provides a toughv proper form. and after the complemental sections are joined` andl the material adjacent to the notches has been drawn or forced lnwardly to close the notch and bring the portlon of the` sole in course of manufacture into substantially the form of the finished -7 sole, the rubber ply 17 may be applied whereby the sections will be held in proper form,

, andy after the rear portion 16 ofthesole and the ply 18, as well as the reinforcement 22l have been, assembled, the whole may be placed in a mold of suitable size and form and cured, whereby the sole will be given its permanentfinished form and all parts composing the sole will be securely united by volcanization.

I claim as my invention 1. A sole for boots and shoes comprising complemental sect-ions joined on a line extending substantially longitudinally of the Sole, said sections comprising strips of fabric Vset substantially edgewise to the tread surface ofthe sole` the strips extending divergently from said line toward the respective edges of the sole. Y

2. A sole for boots and shoeslc'omprising strips 'of material extending at divergent angles toward opposite edges of the sole` the strips at a portion of the sole being notched and theedges ofthe notch brought together' whereby the portions of the strips at one side oft-he joined edges of the notch e1-:tent"ling in a different direction relatively to the port-ions of the strips at the other side of the joined edges of the notch.

3. A sole for boots and shoes comprising` plies of material presented edgewise to the tread surface of the sole and extending divergently from a line extending longitudinally of the sole and toward the opposite edges of the sole, stripsat opposite sides lill.)

of the longitudinal line being notched and the vedges of the notches brought together at pointsremoved inwardly from the edge of the sole andthe strips between the joined edges' of each notch and the edge vof the sole extending in a dierent direction elatiifely to' those at the other side of the joined ed s of the notch.

4. vA so e for boots' and shoes comprising plies f material presented edgewise tread surface and extending- "divergently from a line extending substantially longitudinally of the sole toward the side edges thereof, the stri in the region of the toe end of the sole bin interru ted on a line which intersects sai longitu inal line and is `substantially parallel to but is removed inwardly from the toe edge of the sole, the

strips extending tion to the toe ed of the sole in a direction substantiall ongitudinal of the sole.

5.- A sole for ts and shoes com rising assembled strips of material resent edgewise to the tread surface an extending divergently` toward the .side edges of the sole, the strips adjacent to the shank of the sole .being interrupted and extending in rela,- tively different directions at the respective sides of the interruption. A sole for boots and shoes comprising strips of material extending diver ntly toward the-res ect-ive. side edges of t e sole', a portlon of e sole being notched and the edges of the notch brought together whereby edgev of t the dlrectimv of the strips vbetween the Joined edges of. the notch and the adjacent e sole is altered.

A sole for boots andshoes comprising I strips of material extending divergently 'totion of the sole of the notch brou ht toethcr whereby the l the :forwardv andi of fabs@ which l forward and rear ward the sideedges of the sole, the toe orbcing `notched and' the edges trips, between sai tu inally ofthe sole; f. 8. A sole for boots and shoes comprising ^assembled strips of material extendmg di- `'vergentbT toward the'v sideedges of the .sole and .having van c ge adjacent to the shank portion 'which .is notchedyandftheed of the notch ldrawn cinwa-rdl' fand-'unitees 9. A sole. for bootsfandl'shoes comprising join terial'A presented substantially edgewise to the treadlsurfacma portion, Aand areinforcementv composed lof tough' textile materia] whlchoverlapsthe adjacent edges of A rear .portionsA of the -sole and is vulcanizedthereto. j t

10. Asole`for boots and shoes com p )rt1onsl -joined a reinforcementco )ridges 'the joined edges of the sole and is vulcanized:

jacent to the shank, and

said portions of thereto.' 'f

to the surfaces of the sheet, and drawing to the from said line of interrup.

-dial line, the assembled edges and the toe b of the sole Aextend substantially 1ongi` portion o 5f-'strips of man assembling sections made' rising 11. The improvement in the manufacture of soles for boots and shoes which comrises forming anoteh' .in a sheet made up o plies ofmaterial assembled to present their edges t0- gether and unitin the material`at the edges of the `notch to s a e the sheet to conform substantiall rwith t e outline of the sole to be producedl 12. The improvement inthe manufacture of soles for boots and shoes which comprises cutting a blank from a sheet of material made up of plies of material assembled to present their edges'to the surface of the sheet, the blank approximating the outline ofthe sole and having a notch therein and toward one end thereof which intersects some of the strips,` drawing together the edges of the material at oaposite sides of the notch and to shape the s eet to conform substantially7 with the outline of the sole to be reduced to close the notch, and uniting sai edges of the material.

13. The improvement in the manufacture of soles for boots and shoes which comprises assembling sections made u of strips, of material extending divergen)7 from a me sections approximating the out-lineof the sole and having a notch formed in one end whichintersects .the adjacent strips, drawing ther the material of ther sections at opposite sides of the notch to close the latter and to shape such 'portions of the sections to conform substantiall with the shape of the sole to be produce and then curin the sole.

14. The improvement in t e manufacture of soles for boots and shoes which comprises assembling a pair of sections made up of plies of material resented edgewise to the surface anld exten ing divergently from the ine of jointure of the sections, the assemled sections approximating the out-line of the sole to be made therefrom and having a notch formed in one end which extends across the line of to close said notch andv tobring the adjaconformit with the shape to be iven such fv the finished sole., and tien curin j cinture of the sections, forcing together the material of thesections Ithesole and thus'unitng the material at the ,edges of the noteh.Y

` 15. The improvement in the manufacture of soles for boot-s 'and shoes which comprises up of strips of material extending divcrgently from a medial line,the assembled sections havin a notch which intersects the adacent strips, drawing together the material of the sections at' opposite sides of the notch to close suchportions of the the latter and to shape sections, a

plying a p of vulcanizable ma'- l aterialeto. tliesectlons -tlius shaped, and curmg the sole,v

16. The improvement in the manufacture of soles for boots and shoes which comprises vassembling colnplemental sections made up of strips of material extending divergently from a line of jointure of the sections, the assembled sections having a notch which intersects the adjacent strips and also said line of jointure, drawing together the material of the sections at opposite sides of the notch to close the sannand shape such portions of 10 the sections, applying a ply of vulcanizable material to a face of the assembled sections While so shaped, and curing the solo.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sot my hand.

JAMES E. GROSJEAN. 

